Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo said he was sad and concerned about the alleged involvement of two state vocational school students in the premeditated murder of an online taxi driver in Semarang.

He expressed his concern in front of hundreds of people attending the declaration of the Zakat Awareness Movement in Semarang on Wednesday, which was also attended by Religious Affairs Minister Lukman Hakim Saifuddin.

“What really concerns me is their claim that they allegedly murdered the taxi driver because they could not pay their tuition fees. In fact, starting this year, all state senior high schools and SMKN students in Central Java are freed from tuition fees.

“The Central Java administration has spent Rp 700 billion [US$56 million] in budgetary allocations to free students and their parents from being burdened by tuition fees,” said Ganjar.

“Hence, their claim that they allegedly killed the taxi driver to pay their tuition fees doesn’t make sense at all,” he added.

TA and IB, two 10^th graders, have been arrested for allegedly murdering Deny Setiawan, a Semarang resident who worked as a GoCar and GrabCar driver.

They allegedly killed Deny by slitting his throat on Saturday evening and taking his money, mobile phones and car. The police apprehended them the next day. (ebf)

Suspects: TA and IB appear at a press conference at the Semarang Police office on Tuesday. They are accused of murdering an online taxi driver in the city. (JP/Suherdjoko)